Detection and Analysis of Low-Frequency Sperm Whale Vocalizations with a Towed Array

Sperm whale vocalizations recorded during a sea test and calibration experiment in the Gulf of Maine on a single towed, horizontal, densely sampled, low-frequency (< 2500 Hz), coherent hydrophone array system are detected and analyzed for signal energy level and other characteristics. The vocalizing individuals are localized in bearing, range, and depth. An algorithm is developed to achieve automatic detection of vocalizations. This analysis is shown to have potential utility despite restriction to only the low-frequency component of the vocalizations by sampling theory. In addition, transmission loss in the New England continental shelf and slope environment is accounted for with an ocean waveguide-acoustic propagation model. Multiple averaged realizations of this model are used to estimate transmission loss as a function of range and depth for transects between the receiver array and vocalizing whales. Comparison of the vocalizations and background noise levels and the estimated transmission loss suggests the sperm whale detection range after coherent array processing exceeds 60 km in low-to-moderate sea states. Low-frequency source levels of vocalizations are estimated using the received levels and the estimated transmission loss, and applications of both this estimate and the receiver-side statistics are discussed.